Abstract: The size, mass, luminosity, and space density of Lyman-alpha emitting (LAE)
galaxies observed at intermediate to high redshift agree with expectations for
the properties of galaxies that formed metal-poor halo globular clusters (GCs).
The low metallicity of these clusters is the result of their formation in
low-mass galaxies. Metal-poor GCs could enter spiral galaxies along with their
dwarf galaxy hosts, unlike metal-rich GCs which form in the spirals themselves.
Considering an initial GC mass larger than the current mass to account for
multiple stellar populations, and considering the additional clusters that are
likely to form with massive clusters, we estimate that each GC with a mass
today greater than 2x10^5 Msun was likely to have formed among a total stellar
mass ~3x10^7 Msun, a molecular mass ~10^9 Msun, and 10^7 to 10^9 Msun of older
stars, depending on the relative gas fraction. The star formation rate would
have been several Msun/yr lasting for ~10^7 yrs, and the Lyman-alpha luminosity
would have been ~10^42 erg/s. Integrating the LAE galaxy luminosity function
above this minimum, considering the average escape probability for Lyalpha
photons (25%), and then dividing by the probability that a dwarf galaxy is
observed in the LAE phase (0.4%), we find agreement between the co-moving space
density of LAEs and the average space density of metal-poor globular clusters
today. The local galaxy WLM, with its early starburst and old GC, could be an
LAE remnant that did not get into a galaxy halo because of its remote location.